Fliewatuet's 2007 birthday drabbles: 2. Confessions - by Vilwarin

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2. Confessions - by Vilwarin

Night had descended over the land, and the two rangers had camp in a small dell near Weathertop. They were sitting quietly, staring into the fire. At last Halbarad leaned over Aragorn's shoulder to see what the other man was doing.

"What are you carving?" Halbarad asked.

"It is Galathor's birthday soon, is it not?"

"Yes, but you need not make him a gift. I know that you hate carving!"

"As his 'uncle', I do not want to come back empty-handed. I love him dearly and enjoy his company."

"You are only hurting yourself."

Aragorn looked up at that and glared at his cousin. "You should not speak of things you do not know."

Halbarad laid a hand on Aragorn's shoulder. "Do not think me ignorant. You wish for Galathor to be yours, and you wish for her to warm your bed."

Aragorn pushed the hand from his shoulder, threw the carving into the fire and walked off towards the dell's rim. After a few moments Halbarad followed him. He found him standing just outside the circle of light, staring into the distance. He did not move when Halbarad walked up to him.

A long pause. "I have been feeling lonely ever since I left Eriador many years ago. It seems as if I fit even less than when I came here as a youth of twenty years. Everything has changed."

"Not everything, I am still here."

"It is not the same, though."

Aragorn shivered, and Halbarad suspected that it was more than the cold night air. He laid an arm around the younger man and guided him back to their fire.

"It changed because you wanted it to. You have been evading me in this ever since we met again. Silence does not undo things, you know."

"What would you have me say, then?"

Halbarad had known that sooner or later they would be having this conversation. He had hoped for a better time. "The truth, of course." He gulped. "There is no one to hear or see."

"The truth? I am ashamed of my thoughts and feelings. I am weak." He sat down again, letting his head fall into his hands. His next words were muffled. "Not long ago, only a blink of the eye for her, did I swear and oath of faithfulness. I broke it in my mind."

"As did I. My feelings have not changed since the day we said farewell." Halbarad admitted.

Aragorn looked up, anguish shining clearly in his eyes. Halbarad drew him into his arms and he melted into the embrace.

"No one will ever know," Halbarad said then and kissed the top of Aragorn's head.

This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.

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